This Blog is dedicated to the middle of the pack triathlete who is passionate about our sport and believes it is the best lifestyle you can choose.

September 2014

09/29/2014

Wow, it has been a long time since I posted to my list of the Top 50 reasons to Love Ironman Triathlon. The end of July I raced Ironman Lake Placid and since then I have really taken a break mentally as much as physically from Ironman.

I found this years ramp up my Ironman race really consumed me. I spent more time and effort training than ever before and I believe I was rewarded with a good race, a finish, and a positive memory of the experience. It was a tough day and the run didn't work out like I wanted but that is for another post.

Reason #34 to love Ironman is the concept of biohacking. This is a term used today for trying to maximize your everyday performance and Ironman training gives you the platform to explore this.

Training can take up to 20 hours per week, through in prep time for workouts and your career and you need to be at your best everyday. So, this year I experimented more than ever with how to recover properly from workouts.

Lesson #1 is that compression socks do work! I use the Balega model and love them. Compression socks will increase blood flow from your lower extremities which will help circulation and recovery. Hospitals have been using them for years to help patients who have circulation problems and in the last five years endurance athletes have really embraced them.

Lesson #2 is that amino acid supplementation helps me quite a bit. There is some controversy around aminos and using them before, during and after workouts and my experience has been a positive one. I actually used them during the race as well and found that fatigue was delayed in comparison to past races. Nothing scientific to share here with my situation just that they seemed to work.

Lesson #3 is that sleep is crucial. I have always been a good sleeper and I really paid attention to this during training. Going to bed at the same time every night is ideal so try to get that sleep consistent.

Lesson #4 - More fats in the diet. I have switched up my diet to eating more fats which I believe is helping my body stay a little more "lubricated". Starting with bulletproof coffee each morning, supplementing with fish oils and eating more nuts I really believe this helped me with recovery and less inflamation overall in my body. My surgically repaired knee was pain free during all of training!!!

Well, to end this post I would say the process of "biohacking" is fun. The key is to track and test everything you do and monitor how you feel. I use a simple log book and write things down. I would love to hear what you are doing and what is working.